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Protecting America’s Students, Workers, Teachers, & Retirement Savers

WASHINGTON, D.C. | May 19, 2017

Rolling back the regulatory onslaught of the Obama administration has long been a priority for House Republicans. Through the Congressional Review Act, the House and Senate passed — and President Trump signed — 14 resolutions to repeal harmful Obama-era regulations. Members on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have played an integral role in this important effort, championing various resolutions that reverse federal overreach and protect America’s students, workers, employers, and retirement savers:

Blocking a Flawed, Redundant, and Unnecessary Blacklisting Scheme: Introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, H.J. Res. 37 blocked the Obama administration’s flawed “blacklisting” rule. The resolution overturned an unnecessary regulatory scheme that would have made a system designed to protect workers less efficient, undermined our nation’s military readiness, and limited the ability of small businesses to compete for federal contracts.

Reducing the Federal Government’s Role in Teacher Preparation: Introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), H.J. Res. 58 stopped a rule that would have significantly expanded the federal government’s involvement in teacher preparation and may have led to fewer teachers serving some of our nation’s most vulnerable children.

Ensuring the Every Student Succeeds Act Is Implemented as Congress Intended: H.J. Res. 57, introduced by Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), rolled back a regulation that imposed prescriptive accountability requirements on state education leaders and violated provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act. The resolution pulled back this federal overreach and preserved the authority of states to develop their own policies for holding schools accountable to parents and taxpayers.

Overturning OSHA’s Power Grab: Introduced by Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), H.J. Res. 83 rejected an unlawful rule put forward by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Obama administration. With the rule, OSHA attempted to rewrite federal law through regulatory fiat. The resolution authored by Rep. Byrne rejected this abuse of power and failed approach to workplace safety.

Upholding Strong Protections for Retirement Savers: Introduced by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Francis Rooney (R-FL), H.J. Res. 66 and H.J. Res. 67 closed a regulatory loophole that allowed states, cities, and counties to force private-sector workers into government-run retirement accounts without the consumer protections provided by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. By overturning these misguided regulations, members of Congress took an important step to promote the retirement security of working families.

We’ve made important progress, but there’s more work to be done. House Republicans will continue to deliver regulatory relief and advance positive reforms that empower the American people to succeed.

This week, we’re taking a look back at five ways we’ve made America better during the 115th Congress. Today we’re talking about providing health care options to millions of small business employees. h......
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